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Topic: wrist size cuttings (Read 16668 times)

Hello all, this is my first post and enjoying the comments and gaining knowledge. I mainly use Ficus for my material and wanting to diversify to something deciduous I have been looking to Maples. Several years ago (7) I planted some small 6" tridents in my yard. I decided this year to take some larger size cuttings from the trees where it looked to me to have an interesting appearance. I have no experience with this but nature being what it is accomplished budding on about 35 of 38 pieces. Looking for some guidance here while looking to the books, web etc. I examined a sample cutting and they are leafing out but no rooting yet (calloused) and still on mats at 70 degs (3 weeks)

Any comments would be great. Thanks Mark

93. My intention is to move them to my unheated greenhouse till its warm enough outside then plant them in individual 8" grow pots with perilite.

My short and terse answer is related to the lack of good and reliable literature that is bonsai specific. There are a few pieces that discuss the concept. Kyosuke Gun has a good book on growing tridents "Kaede" that gives a very nice pictorial view, but it is in Japanese with lots of great cartoons.

I styled a tree for Julan Adams last week that he rooted from a large trunk he chopped off. www.adamsbonsai.com He can tell you what he did, but sounds like you're past the questions stage.

As John Kirby said "no". Dirr's book is the gospel; both his Manual of Woody Landscape Plants and Manual for Woody Plant Propagation. The Royal Horticultural Society has a great book called Propagation that covers a number of herbaceous and tropicals not hit on in Dirr's books.

Bonsai Today has some sporadic articles on propagation work as do a few of the newer Bonsai Focus.

Take a look at Bonsai Today issue #8. starts on page 23 but skip to page 31 Trunk cutting example # 2. Looks like he had roots on large Trident cuttings about like yours in a couple of months. He goes through the whole process with pictures of the process. The next section of the same article is also very interesting on page 35 Cuttings for multiple trunk bonsai. Let me know if you can't get ahold of this issue.